Murder Suspect in Modesto Cold Case Appears in Court

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MODESTO -- Surrounded by deputies and two heartbroken families, suspected killer David Aguilar walked in a jail jumpsuit and shackles after his arraignment on Tuesday.

He’s accused of killing Lacy Ferguson almost 13 years ago at the Quik Stop gas station on Paradise road in Modesto. According to the criminal complaint, he was a Norteno gang member.

For Aguilar’s daughter, Amaryllis, seeing her father in these circumstances is not how she imagined their reunion.

"It really broke my heart to see my dad here because it’s the first time I’ve seen him in six years,” Amaryllis Aguilar told FOX40.

Amaryllis said her father is innocent and said he didn’t run away to Mexico because of the murder, he was actually deported.

"He wasn’t involved with gangs. My dad was never involved with gangs, and we can all vouch for that,” she said.

Aguilar did not enter a plea at the arraignment. Instead, the judge granted him two weeks to hire an attorney.

He not only faces charges for Ferguson’s murder, but also for shooting and injuring two other people in the same shooting.

“We’re confident that we have enough information and enough evidence to go forward. Certainly whether or not’s someone’s going to get convicted depends on what the jury does and the final decision,” said John Goold, the deputy district attorney with the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office.

As for Ferguson’s mother, Boni Driskell, who flew in from the midwest. She told us in the past that she has been waiting for more than a decade for answers. For her, the arraignment is one step closer to justice. She did not want to speak on camera at the arraignment because she said she was "too stunned."

Goold said that because Aguilar was extradited from Mexico, he will not face the death penalty if he’s convicted of murder.